false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170391595m/52570.jpg 52570 7 You've heard the rumors. The film industry is filled with ruthless executives who think nothing of brow-beating their employees, of using creative accounting to cheat filmmakers, and re-cutting a director's vision into a soulless crowd-pleaser. Well, it turns out those rumors are often true--at least according to Peter Biskind's highly entertaining <I>Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film</I>. Packed with industry anecdotes and history, the book chronicles the growth and eventual mainstreaming of independent films and offers the back-story to seminal works including <I>sex, lies, and videotape</I> and <I>Pulp Fiction</I> among others. Biskind, author of <I>Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood</I>, divides most of his time between Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford and Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein. Biskind simultaneously credits these two as fostering, though ultimately ruining, the purity of indpendent film. Other indies are largely left out, although the now-defunct October Films appears prominently in the role of noble failure. Biskind has serious points to make, but he's not stingy with the war stories, either. (One particularly amusing scene involves October executives chasing Robert Duvall's agent through a Sheraton Hotel in an attempt to stop him from making a deal with Miramax to distribute <I>The Apostle</I>.) Those who have only a passing interest in the movie business may tire of Biskind's oft-repeated themes (Weinstein is an evil genius! Redford is a passive-aggressive control freak!) but for those who truly love film industry gossip, <I>Down and Dirty Pictures</I> is a feast of insider stories--each tidbit juicier than the last. <I>--Leah Weathersby</I> 51275 21 12 2004 Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film total:326|5:3|4:4|3:3|2:1|1:1| 326 1187 472 50 3 0 false false Sat Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 11:35:33 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 28 02:24:46 -0800 2009
And the book becomes suddenly much more intense, and we can easily relate to all the adventures of this bunch of idealists wh...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:25:13 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:25:13 -0800 2009 Trust Biskind. You don't know half the story behind the movies you see. In this gossipy, titillating expose on the marriage between Sundance and Miramax, Biskind vilifies everyone: Redford, the Weinsteins, those greedy little actors just trying to earn a modest living. It's a fascinating read--even ...

more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 15:16:21 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 07:54:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Sep 03 07:56:55 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 19:34:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 06:17:50 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 04 17:34:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Mar 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 20:23:28 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 20:27:34 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Jul 09 22:07:29 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 22:14:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 30 10:35:20 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 10:37:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Dec 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Aug 28 10:44:49 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 12 05:44:56 -0800 2008
The book comes in at a bloated 480...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jan 20 18:53:20 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 18:56:10 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 27 12:24:25 -0800 2007 Sat Oct 25 18:47:38 -0700 2008 But the book can be summed up like this: The Weinsteins are assholes. Everyone says so. S...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Dec 06 23:36:51 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 23:37:26 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 18:44:49 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 14 21:54:09 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 06:10:23 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 06:08:55 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Feb 13 19:07:47 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 05:58:37 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Sep 04 04:20:17 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 04 04:49:27 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Oct 17 10:58:29 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 17 11:02:10 -0700 2007 Moteros tranquilos, toros salvajes, Biskind trata de esbozar un retrato generacional del Hollywood independiente. Al final, el libro se queda en un relato de las andanzas de Steven Sorderbergh, del festival de Sundance y, sobre todo, de la tiranía y abusos de los hermanos Weinstein...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 09:51:09 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 05 18:34:13 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 22 11:41:58 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 22 11:56:09 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 22 08:06:53 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 22 08:11:17 -0700 2007 Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, this book presents a behind-the-scenes that moviegoers don't see. For that alone, the book is worth reading for those interested in independent cinema. As with many Biskind books, it runs over-long, and eventually, you don't want to hear about the personal lives of ...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=52570